Snowbirds
(England)
"Snowbirds" were the quintessential "cutie" indiepop band,formed by Charlotte Thackray and Matthew White when they both studied at Cardiff University in the early 1990s. Snowbirds came from the couple's love of cutie / indiepop music influenced by Razorcuts, The Pastels and the various bands of Amelia Fletcher. The name Snowbirds came from Razorcuts song "Snowbirds Don't Fly". Snowbirds were accurately summed up in the 14-word write-up in the Melody Maker by Dave Simpson "Snowbirds, a wimp-rock boy-girl couple who make The Pooh Sticks sound like Throbbing Gristle".
While Charlotte and Matthew were living in Cardiff, Snowbirds was completed by a bass player (Clive Newton), rhythm guitarist (Ewan Davies) and drummer when available who were also students at Cardiff University. In 1992 they recorded "Motorcycle Baby" released as a seven inch "flexidisc" on Watercolour Records with music fanzine "Popsicle". Special guest on these sessions was an prolific "Session" guitarist , Glyn Kerry Groves, who played some futuristic Stienberg headless guitar to get the "6o´s Jangly sound". "Motorcycle Baby" has become an Indie- pop cult classic, original "Flexi- Disc" pressings command high prices across the world, but there is a free download of the complete Snowbirds album now available on- line, and an appearance of Motorcycle Baby on the "Essential" Indie compilation, Sounds of Leamington Spa III.
Glyn Kerry Groves himself has said of the piece: " These were beautiful people in innocent times, Matthew came up my garden path one sunny afternoon, (How he actually found me is a mystery to me to this day..!).
Grasping a rusty old electric guitar and a casette tape, I loved him immediately.
Charlotte and Matthew relocated to Hove in 1993 and Snowbirds went on to release a split single on Waaaah! records with Les Poissons Solubles in 1994 and recorded many more songs on Matthew's 8 track recorder.
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Motorcycle Baby
(FLX) 1992
on Watercolour
- Impossible Dream
- Love Will Come My Way